You Don't Know Me
by Laughter.Is.The.Cure
Summary: Elizabeth and Arthur are experiencing two different kinds of 'trouble' at home. Can the Kirkland family's hectic life make up for the young girl's less than perfect childhood. No pairings. Rated T because I'm paranoid and can't remember what I've written.
1. Stranger Danger

"Elizabeth! Come down her this instant," her father's slurred speech was heard throughout the house.

Her blood froze, but her mind raced. It was time, once again, for her father to blame his faults on her. For him to transfer his pained memories to her in physical pain. Not this time...not ever again.

Elizabeth had prepared herself, mentally, for this day. She was leaving, forever.

She locked her bedroom door, "I'm coming, father!" She slipped on a second pair of socks and her battered, old Converse shoes. Next, she pulled a black, oversized sweatshirt over her head. She was fully prepared for the bone chilling journey ahead of her. At least, as ready as she could ever be, owning next to no clothing at all.

She silently lifted her window open, and pushed the bug screen out. She threw a leg over the window sill and slid gracefully to the ground. After mentally congratulating herself, she slipped away into the shadows.

_**~Meheheh! You get to suffer from my laziness and miss all events during this time skip!~**_

Elizabeth was cold... Cold is an understatement. Her fingers were going to freeze and break off if she had to walk in the cold for another hour.

She had absent mindedly wandered onto a random street. As she leaned against a nearby brick wall, it began to snow. She slid down the wall to sit with her knees pulled up to her chest. _"Well, look at it this way: You got really far didn't you? Maybe you could go a bit longer," _the voice in her head said joyfully.

She folded her arms over her knees, and rested her head on her arms as the snow turned to cold, heavy raindrops. She could only hope that no one would notice her. Then it dawned on her: What if her father was already looking for her? Was he on her trail as she sat there helplessly?

She didn't have anymore time to dwell on her thoughts when she realized the rain stopped. At least, it stopped falling on _her_. She looked up from her arms, and was met with a pair of beautiful emerald eyes.

"All alone, I see," noted a calm, British accented voice.

Elizabeth then brought herself to look at the man's other features. The first thing she noticed were his excessively large eyebrows. She wasn't amused for long though, and let her eyes wander to other things, such as his glimmering blonde hair. She stared in awe at this rather good-looking man.

It then registered in her head that he had spoken to her. "Y-yes, sir." She shifted uncomfortably under his strangely concerned gaze.

He lowered himself to her level, still holding an umbrella over her shivering form. "I'm Arthur... What might your name be, dear?" He was obviously trying his best to ease her into conversation.

She contemplated whether she should trust him or not, and then realized she didn't really have a choice. She was alone, cold, and was probably going to be found by her father. "Elizabeth," she mumbled.

"Ah, what a pretty name," Arthur stated to himself more than anyone. "Pardon my intrusion of your personal life, but, what is a girl as young as you doing out here all alone?"

The 'stranger danger' alarms in the girl's head turned off, and she opened up to the man. She told him the whole story of her father, his cruel 'punishments', and most importantly, her running away.

"It's not my duty to scold you, but what did you expect to happen once you were out of the house? Do you have any relatives nearby?" Elizabeth's head spun and tried to wrap around the fact that someone actually cared enough to ask her these things.

She tried to wear a smile, and convince herself that everything was okay, because it could be worse. "I didn't really know _what _would happen...and I don't have _any _family at all that I know of, I think they all live in America. But hey, I'm not going to let that get me down.~"

Arthur pulled out his phone to check the weather forecast. He sighed and looked to the girl once more. "This gloomy weather isn't going to stop anytime soon... Why don't you come home with me for the time being?"

He rose to his full height and offered his hand to the teen. At first, she was reluctant, but was convinced by the gentle gleam in his eyes. She took his hand and was pulled to her feet.

On the walk home Arthur warned Elizabeth that his family was staying at his house for a few days. All in all, they _sounded _nice, just a bit rambunctious. "I feel the need to apologize in advance. If they cause you any discomfort, don't be afraid to tell me. They can get...out of hand at times."

Elizabeth walked silently alongside the man. He seemed so unaffected by the fact that he was taking a fourteen year old runaway into his home. She couldn't help but feel comforted by his calm personality. It was so different from what she had grown up with.

"Mister Arthur...?" She tested his name for the first time.

He stopped mid-sentence. Had she even been listening? He couldn't blame her, she had a lot on her mind, no doubt. "Yes, dear?"

"Do you think my father will try to find me?" Secretly, she wanted her father to search for her. Only to find that she's nowhere to be found. She wanted him to feel the disappointment, and the pain that she had felt all her life.

Arthur looked to the ground, not knowing how to respond. He looked back up and realized they had arrived at his home. As expected, every light in the house was still turned on. "I don't know... We can discuss that at a later time. You look like you haven't slept in days."

In truth, she hadn't. She hardly ever slept, out of fear. When she did sleep, she woke constantly, crying from terrible nightmares. She nodded and let out a small, "Yes, sir."

Arthur smiled to himself at her manners and placed a hand on her shoulder before twisting the doorknob. He pushed the door open to reveal the most elegant looking house Elizabeth could have ever imagined.

She was caught slightly off guard when a loud, booming, obnoxious voice echoed through the house. "Hey Iggy! Dude, who's the chick?" A man with deep blue eyes and dirty-blonde hair now stood before them.

Arthur sighed. Before he could answer, another voice spoke. "The lass seems a bi' young for ye, Artie." Elizabeth looked in the direction of the speaker and found two red-heads with equally amazing green eyes sitting on a couch in a nearby room.

"Oh shut up, Seamus. I don't have time for you three at the moment," Arthur warned.

The second red-head with lighter hair looked to Arthur with dull eyes, "Tha's by no means fair. I 'aven't said anything."

Arthur directed Elizabeth towards a grand looking staircase. "Now you have. If you wouldn't mind, please try controlling _those_ two." With that said, he led the girl upstairs and into the nearest bathroom. "Here you are. You can take a shower while I go ready a room for you to sleep in." He left the room, leaving Elizabeth alone in the large room. She turned on the water, stripped herself of her cold, damp clothing, and stepped into the water.

_**~20 min later ... Arthur POV~ ~Fufufu, I feel like such a troll when I time skip~**_

"So basically, you kidnapped a lost child," Alfred stated. Arthur had just told everyone where he found Elizabeth, and what she had told him. Reese ran a hand through his hair and let out a low whistle.

Arthur pinched the bridge of his nose. "The next person to talk forfeits their room for Elizabeth to sleep in, and has to sleep on the couch."

Suddenly, two more people entered the room. One of them being Elizabeth, who looked strangely embarrassed. The person who followed was the third red-headed Kirkland brother, Iain.

"Arthur, would ye like ter tell me why I found this pretty li'l lass in yer house?" He had a hand on her shoulder. The next thing the Brit noticed was the girl's clothing. She was wearing an oversized blue shirt with a white 'X' across it (meant to look like the Scottish flag), and loose fitting, grey plaid pajama pants.

The Englishmen tried to find his voice, but could only point at her. Iain understood. "I 'ad to find her clothin' as well."

The next person to talk was Seamus, "Iain has ter sleep on tha couch!" This earned him a punch from Reese.

_**~One or two fist fights later~**_

"Alright, here we are," Arthur led Elizabeth into the large bedroom. He walked her to the bed and helped her cover herself with the many blankets. "Just call for me if you need anything. Good night, dear." With that, he was gone, and the bedroom door was closed.

She felt strange sleeping in a strange house, in a complete stranger's room. _(What the Hell, I just said 'strange' three times in a row! I'm leaving it to show my idiocy~)_ On top of that, it was Iain's room. She felt bad, but Arthur had settled the dispute and convinced the red-head that it was only temporary. On that thought, she fell into a worried slumber.

About an hour later, she woke from the strangest nightmare she had ever experienced. In the dream, she was asleep in Iain's room, but standing in the corner of the room was her father. He looked too normal as he approached her, and shook her shoulder to wake her. When her eyes were fully open, he pulled something from his back pocket. When Elizabeth realized it was a knife, she struggled to get out of the bed, but she was trapped under the blankets. It became harder and harder to breathe as it felt as if the blanket were getting tighter. Then, she woke.

She sat up, checking the corner of the room for her father. He wasn't there. She sighed in relief, but then looked around the rest of the room. It was large and dark. As she tried to fall asleep, she would occasionally snap her attention to a certain object or area. Her mind was playing tricks on her. She would hear a bump, or see a shadow flash across the room. She looked to the alarm clock next to the bed. It was eleven o'clock. She assumed everyone would be asleep, but slipped out of the bed anyways.

She rushed to the door to avoid the "beasts" lurking in the shadows ((of the Damned)), and quietly made her way downstairs.

When she reached the bottom step, she immediately caught the attention of the eldest redhead. He appeared to be alone, and had made a temporary bed out of the couch. He pulled his attention away from the television to look at the girl. "What're ye doin' down 'ere, lass?"

She remained at the bottom step, holding on to the railing. Shrugging at his question, she looked to the floor. "You c-can have your room back. It's a bit too big and d-dark for my liking anyways..." She looked up to the room and once again thought she saw a shadow in the doorway. Feeling too exposed, out in the open, she rushed to the couch.

She dropped down next to Iain and covered her head with a nearby pillow for protection.

The man chuckled before taking the pillow from her hands, causing her to face him. "Wha's eatin' ya, lassy?"

"Nothing," she spewed immediately.

Iain frowned, "Tha' doesn't look like nothin'. I won't tell no one if ya don' want me to."

She looked down at her hands in her lap. "I just...no, it's stupid. I'm sorry I even bothered you." She stood to walk away.

Then, something clicked in the man's head. "Y'know, it's okay ter be 'fraid of tha dark." He smirked as the girl spun around to face him.

"I'm _not _afraid of the dark! I'm just...afraid of what's _in _the dark..." She mumbled the last part, but was still heard by the Scotsman. "But that's not the point! I had a weird dream. M-my dad. He h-had a knife. A-and he...h-he tried to...k-kill..." She thought better of trying to continue. She instead looked into the man's emerald eyes.

"Mister Iain," she said questioningly.

He moved to the other end on the couch, and signaled for the girl to sit in his nest of pillows and blankets. She sank into the previously inhabited mountain of fluff.

"Did you have scary dreams when you were little?" She looked up to him with sparkling blue eyes.

He sighed, "Aye, I did. In fact, I 'ad a recurrin' dream for 'bout two whole years. Ya see, there was this giant arse pirate..."

Iain continued with his tales of an overactive imagination as Elizabeth slowly fell asleep to the sound of his highly enthused voice. It was the first time she had ever fallen asleep in a calm state of mind.

* * *

_I'm not sure if Scotland's name/gender has been officially announced. Who did research? I f*cking did research~!_


	2. Coming Together :3

_You've probably noticed that I haven't openly stated Elizabeth's hair color. And I also tend to avoid eye color. This isn't because I can't develop a character. As a reader, I enjoy the story more when the author leaves more room for imagination. Such as character details. Mostly because I like the idea of putting myself into the story, and that's what I've done for you guys! So throw yourself in there, and ignore the fact that your name is Elizabeth~ Now I'm going to stop talking, because this little ramble could surpass the story (lengthwise) in no time at all~_

* * *

**Still not finished...but you guys haven't killed me. So I must be doing something right. Right? I'M TRYING THE BEST I CAN WITH MY BUSY SCHEDULE! I was unable to do anything for a week (major family expedition...YAY! NOT)...this is what I got done in about 5 minutes. DON'T SHOOT ME!**

Elizabeth woke to the sound of snoring. It was surprisingly loud, and then she remembered where she was. Her blue eyes fluttered open, but all she saw was darkness. She panicked and lifted her head slightly. She was surprised to find herself nestled into Iain's side, with his arm resting on her back. She gasped and sat up, forgetting to try not to wake the snoring man, who continued to sleep anyways.

She looked around the room, hoping to at least find a clock. Instead, a certain red-head's phone caught her attention, sitting on the end table next to his head, which rested on the arm of the couch. She stood, stretching, and silently reached for the device.

When she turned it on, it asked for a four number password. She sighed and put in '1-2-3-4' as a lazy attempt. To her surprise, it worked, and she was taken to the phones main screen. She read the clock, '9:15', just as aloud ringing was heard throughout the house.

After recovering from shock, Elizabeth realized that it was the _phone _that was the source of the sound. Had Iain set an alarm to wake himself? She then panicked, trying to set the phone back on the table, but it was too late.

"Whad'yae think yer doin'?" The man looked to Elizabeth with an amused smirk. To her, it was just a 'You cannot even comprehend how much trouble you're in' smile.

She flinched, closing her eyes. "N-no! It's n-not what you think, M-mister Iain! I-I just wanted t-to see the time! N-nothing else!" She handed him his phone and quickly retracted her arm.

The man chuckled while pulling himself off of the couch, and standing full height. Which basically made him a tower compared the young girl. "No need ter be so defensive, lass. Ye've done no harm."

Just as suddenly as the alarm had gone off, Arthur's irritated voice could be heard echoing in the large room. "Iain, the _one _time you set a bloody alarm clock, I actually try to sleep late!" He trudged down the stairs with a scowl on his face. "I hope you realize that everyone else is _still sleeping_."

Elizabeth remained unnoticed, and just stood in confusion. Iain looked to the girl with a cheeky grin, "Watch this." He spun around to face his little brother. "WHAT WAS THA' ARTIE? I CANNAE HEAR YA!"

"I SAID QUIET DOWN, WANK STAIN!" Elizabeth's eyes widened at Arthur's vulgar language. She felt the need to step in and do something, but feared his anger might then be directed towards her. She lightly cleared her throat to gain their attention.

The blonde man's expression immediately changed to a softer one. He looked behind his brother to find Elizabeth standing there, obviously worried, or frightened, he wasn't sure. He dropped his volume and tone dramatically before speaking again. "I'm sorry that you had to hear that, dear. I hope you don't hate me now."

The girl sighed, trying her best to smile. "I _can't _hate you, Mister Kirkland. You practically _saved _me. If anyone should be sorry, it's me. So...s-sorry for intruding." Her voice was quieter and quieter the longer she talked.

"No, don't be sorry, love. If anything, you're great relief from the _others _here." The blonde directed a poisonous glare at Iain. Who flashed him a seemingly innocent smile.

Suddenly, something behind Arthur's head caught the girl's attention. At a glance it looked like a ball of fluff and feathers. When she looked closer, it revealed itself to be a rounded, mint green bunny with wings. She gasped. Elizabeth hadn't had an imaginary friend since she was nine. She tried clearing her mind to make it go away, but it only seemed more real every time she looked at it.

Arthur seemed to notice her confused expression and followed her gaze to the little green creature. His jaw dropped as he turned back to face her. "You...can see him?"

The girl continued to stare at the creature. She pointed to it, stuttering, "Th-there...it's a r-rabbit... No, I'm insane. Take me to a mental ward."

"Elizabeth," the blonde placed a hand on her shoulder. "You're not crazy! I can see it too! You have a gift, dear! You can see it!" He pulled her into a lung-crushing hug, laughing all the while.

The girl was too shocked by the sudden contact to move. "Of course I can see it. What does that mean Mister Kirkland?" Iain just chuckled, watching Arthur truly laugh for the first time in a long while.

"It means you're going to have no trouble at all fitting in. Now, I'd like to introduce you to Flying Mint Bunny.~" Arthur motioned for the rabbit to come forth.

A quick introduction was made before the doorbell rang, sending Arthur into a state of panic. Before Elizabeth was given a chance to ask who it may be, the Brit was ushering her toward the staircase. "I'm sorry, but I don't think you want to be down here when I open the door. Iain, would you mind taking care of our guest while I dismiss the unwanted visitor at the door?" The red-head gave a nod and followed Elizabeth up the stairs.

* * *

_Alright, yes, I'm still rambling. I was just wondering if I should just go on and make this a reader-insert type thing, or develop the character's looks completely. Because I know I'm going to be angry with my self, and get sick of sitting on the fence between the two. ONE OR THE OTHER JAMIE! ONE OR THE OTHER! Oh, and one more thing... Reese((Wales)) wanted to say thanks for all of the 'views' or whatever-"Did not."-Yeah you did. I could see it in your eyes~_

_That brings up another 'issue'. I did a bit of research on Wales and Northern Ireland (Hetalia wise) and it said they have yet to be discussed by the author. So I took matters into my own hands with their names. ((Sort of. I based it off of names other people have used.)) I used pictures as references for what they look like. If I missed anything that has been officially released by the author, tell me!~_


End file.
